What Happens At Hogwarts Stays At Hogwarts
by star-breaker990
Summary: Ginny is reunited with an aquaintance from the past. Things go from bad to worse to down right confusing. Can an evil wizard have a heart? Can a young witch find it?
1. Old Beginnings

_I'm not much of a Ginny fan. I don't hate her or anything like that, I've just found that the older she gets the less sweet she gets and the more in-your-face she gets - and it sort of irritated me. I don't think the Miss Wright who plays her is that talented an actress either, but that's by the by. So I've tried to get in touch with her more *vulnerable* side - I know being stuck with older boys all your life will make you rebellious, but I don't like how she's made out to be some kind of 'man-eater' in the books, if you know what I mean! lol!_

_There are lots of Ginny-Tom Riddle fan-fics out there, probably too many to read through, so the chances are there are many similar to this._

_Sad to say, I do not own any of the characters, nor Hogwarts, nor Tom Riddle's diary! *sob* they all belong to J K Rowling! The portal pendant, however, is my own design J_

_P.S. In the film her eyes are pale blue, in the book her eyes are dark brown - so I compromised!_

_P.P.S. Maybe I might actually finish this one!_

* * *

"Tom Riddle? Are you here?" Ginny whispered into the darkness. As far as she was aware, she was in Hogwarts, and it was minutes after midnight.

She was standing in the Slytherin dungeons, just as she had been instructed. She had been there before, and she knew the way, so why did it feel so different? She was used to the eeriness, but she was not used to such severe cold.

She shivered, clutching her arms. All she had on was a pale pink nightdress down to her knees, and a ratty dressing gown. The soles to her slippers had been worn so thin, she could feel the sharpness of the cold from the flagstone floor right beneath her skin. Her chattering teeth were so loud that they echoed; she was completely alone.

She had been too nervous to call out, she was worried about what might come walking out of the blackness. But now she felt she had no choice - maybe he was waiting for her to make the first move?

"Hello?" she called out, her voice ringing in her ears. She waited, and several seconds later, a smooth voice rose from the darkness, making her heart squeeze.

"Hello, Ginny," came her reply. Out of the darkest corner of the dungeon corridor, came a tall, lean figure. In the faint glow of the silver-tinted candle-light, a face, with skin pale as the moon, could be distinguished. "We finally meet in person." He smiled at Ginny.

Her face, almost as pale as his from the cold, froze. This was him; this was Tom Riddle. He had actually had the nerve to show himself? After all this time, and after all the torment he had caused her? She straightened up, and tried to compose herself. But the atmosphere was riddled - quite literally, now - with such darkness, fear and uncertainty, that she could not hide the worry in her voice.

He spoke again before she could come up with a decent reply. "You have not changed a lot," he continued, slowly stepping forward. "You have grown, you have blossomed from a little girl into a beautiful young woman…but I can see you have not lost your sparkle from five years ago."

Ginny's cheeks finally flushed with colour, and she felt her temperature rise. This was not how she had pictured their meeting. The last time she had seen him was four years ago, when she was only just twelve years of age in her first year at Hogwarts - young, vulnerable and naïve. Her memories of him were vague and misty, like a distant dream. But the memory of what he had done, the sound of his voice in her head had taken longer to forget. Hearing it live, right in front of her, unnerved her.

"You do not scare me, Riddle," she hissed, determined to keep her cool. Tom had certainly kept _his_ cool; he stood calm and composed before her as if they were friends.

"I have not come here to scare you," he replied, holding up a ghostly pale hand and shaking his head. "I have come here simply to meet again. You are not an easy person to scare, Ginny. You are stronger than you think you are."

Ginny dared to step closer to him to get a better look. His face was impassive, and his eyes were like glass, pale and glistening with mystery, much unlike her own dark blue eyes. She was waiting for him to lash out and terrify her.

"You have a nerve showing up here," she went on, folding her arms.

"You have a nerve coming to meet me face to face. If you were so hurt and horrified by what I had done - why did you come here to see me?" he replied, raising his eyebrows with wonder, and a hint of mockery. He nodded with satisfaction when she did not reply. "You must remember, I am not the Dark Lord you know in your day and age. I am still Tom Riddle, and I am still just a teenage wizard."

"What does my 'day and age' have to do with anything?" she asked abruptly. She looked around at the dungeons and corridor, and wondered now whether her original suspicions were correct. "Am I in your time? How did I get here?"

Tom nodded again, this time an impressed smile playing about his face. "Yes, well done," he said. "When you walked through the doorway of the Room of Requirements, you did not just enter another room, you entered another _dimension_. You travelled beyond the boundaries of time, and you were brought here. To _me_." Ginny gazed at him as he spoke. He was so bold and certain in his replies, and completely correct at the same time.

"You still have not told me why you wanted to see me," she persisted. She watched Tom pace in front of her, never removing his gaze from hers. Didn't he ever blink?

"What you never knew four years ago, was that the moment you opened my diary and wrote to me, you created a magical connection between yourself and I," said Tom. "You found the diary, you wrote in the diary, and I replied. It was strange, but powerful magic at work. It was _destiny_."

Ginny stepped back again. She did not like where this was going. "We share _nothing_," she said bluntly. "It was a stupid mistake, my picking up your wretched diary," she paused, "and it was a mistake coming here tonight."

She turned on her heel and headed for the way out of the dungeons, even though she had no idea how to get back. Tom Riddle may have been here only way of getting back, but she was in no mood to be befriending him. The instant she turned her back to him, he shot up behind her.

"You can go if you want to," he said curtly, hovering a hand over her shoulder, but not touching it. "But before you go - I have a gift for you." He took from his left trouser pocket a fine, silver chain with something hanging from it. Ginny could not see what it was, since he held it tight in his grip, leaving only the free chain to hang.

"I will not accept any gifts from you," she replied coldly, her eyes narrowing. She was still aware that he had not yet looked away from her eyes. Even when she looked away and rolled her eyes, he still followed them.

"Well that would be foolish, since this special gift is your only means of escape," he whispered. She looked at his fist, clenching whatever hung on the chain hard. "This is a portal pendant. It will allow you to travel to any place, and any time, anywhere your heart truly desires." He carefully took Ginny's right hand, the tips of his fingers cold as stone, and gently unfolded her tightened fist to drop the portal pendant in the palm of her hand.

It was cold and heavy; the back resembled a regular pendant, but on the front was a silver snake's head. She analysed it carefully, then looked back up, looking right into his staring, silver eyes.

"Place the chain around your neck, and open the snake's mouth," he whispered softly, still watching her eyes skim over the smooth bumps and ridges on the snake's head. "This is no toy," he went on, "this is an age-old, dark magical object. It will take you home, I promise you that. But it will also bring you back to me."

Ginny stepped back and held out the pendant in her hand, staring at it with horror. "I don't want it. Take it back," she gabbled quickly, holding it up to him, but not daring to force it back into his hand and touch him. But he shook his head.

"It is yours now. You cannot escape from here without it," he breathed, barely audible. Ginny threw the pendant to the floor, span on the spot, and started to run. "Unless you plan to find your own way back," he called out.

In a state of panic, acting on impulse. She raced back to the pendant, hauled it off the floor, scrambled to get it over her head, and pulled the snake's mouth hard. In an instant, the black onyx inside its mouth emitted a brilliant gold glow, and the world around her span and blurred. Her heart lurched, Tom Riddle blurred back out of existence, and she was plunged into the darkness.

_A strange place to start without explaining how she got here, I know! But continue to chapter 2, and the truth will await you…!_


	2. Okay Then

_And so the tale continues … !_

Ginny opened her eyes, and she was lying on the sofa in the Gryffindor common room. It was late at night, she could see the night sky behind the curtains, but everything inside was blindingly bright, loud, and rowdy. She shut her eyes tightly shut again and pressed her hands to her ears.

"Ginny! Where've you _been_?" shouted a Gryffindor boy with springy brown hair, giving her what he thought was a welcoming slap on the back. She swotted him away angrily.

"_No! Stop it!_" she wailed in outrage. He looked affronted at her, and looked to his friend, who was behind him. She felt her cheeks flush violently.

"Hey hey!" he moaned, amongst the shouting and gossiping all around them. "Sorry if I woke you!" She pushed him away and ran for the stairs to the dormitory. Several Gryffindors saw her running, and watched her in confusion. "Ginny!" he called after her in exasperation.

But she was not listening. All she wanted to do was get away from everyone. But she bumped into an obstruction along the way.

"Ginny! Slow down, there," came the voice of Lavender Brown. She peered closely at Ginny. "What's wrong? Are you ill? Do you want me to take you down to Madame Pom--"

"I'm fine. I - I'm just tired. I - I - I need to go," she stammered, forcing her out of the way and rushing up the stone steps, almost losing her footing and stumbling down the first step.

She heard Lavender sigh, and mutter something about "She misses her brother," but she did not care. She did not care about anyone down in the common room smothering her and dictating ailments and treatments. She just needed to be on her own and escape from the chaos. For once, she needed to be alone, in the dark and calm.

Once she found her dormitory door, she flung it open, ran to her bed, and collapsed on to it. Her eyes stung with tears. She viciously wiped them away, ashamed that she was still scared of yet stirred by Riddle, and feeling foolish for going in the first place.

She rummaged under her pillow to pull out the note she had found stuck between the window pane the night before, and unfolded it to reread it. She rushed her fingers along his swirling, looping handwriting, sniffing, then crumpled the note and tore it into pieces. It had told her to go through the room of requirements, and told her to come alone. He had told her it was important, and that he had needed to see her. '_I am a fool'_ she thought to herself, sadly.

Suddenly she felt the pendant, the portal pendant, slide further down past her neck under her nightdress, icy cold against her chest. She pulled it out, and balanced it on her fingers, stroking along the intricate detail of the snake, and looking closely into its black eyes. She did not dare open its mouth; she simply lay on her back on the bed, and analysed it carefully. Considering it was supposed to be ancient, the only signs of use were on the tarnishing chain; the snake's head itself was completely clean and shiny. She felt confused and conflicted - Tom Riddle had haunted her dreams for years now - so why had she gone along to see him? Did she still believe all the things he said?

Ginny rolled on to her side, clasped the snake's head tightly in her hands, and held it to her chest. She swore she could feel a heart beat coming from it, despite the fact it was not even a full body and just a head. She knew full well that it was dangerous to get involved with him again, particularly since she now knew he was Voldemort and the Death eaters were back in action beyond the walls of Hogwarts. So what was it about him that was so … alluring? Why did she not want to lose the connection she had felt four years ago? Was she feeling so insecure - or quite likely hormonal - that she believed she had nothing else in her life to hold on to or to make her feel special?

"You have blossomed from a little girl into a beautiful young woman," he had said. Well, he had not changed. Despite never seeing him in real life until now, he was exactly the same as how she had seen him in her dreams. In her nightmares. The same dark brown hair in the same style, the same high cheekbones, the same silver eyes. And the exact same voice. Sinister but soft.

Ginny sat up and vigorously shook her head, causing her flaming red hair to fly about her face. She gave the pendant a firm yank, and the chain fell away from her neck. She gave the snake a last look of suspicion and curiosity, before trickling the chain into the top drawer of her bed-side cabinet and dropping the snake's head in, and clambering under the covers.

"Stop it. You'll feel better in the morning," she told herself. She did not bother to shut her eyes, because she really was not tired, and would not sleep easily even if she was tired. She lay on her back again and stared up at the roof of her canopy bed and sighed.

This was a dangerous game she was playing. It was one she did not want to lose. Especially not to Tom Riddle. So why _was_ she suddenly so drawn to him? After all these long, empty years? What had she been thinking? Ginny cast her mind back to the day before; there had been more than just the note in the window frame.

There was one which had been written on the bathroom mirror of all surfaces, in what looked suspiciously like blood, in his own calligraphic handwriting. It had read "Your heart of secrets has been opened" right above that tap in that dreaded girls' bathroom. The other one was on the back page of her history of magic textbook. "The secrets of your heart have been opened" it had said, scratched into the very back page.

Ginny sat up in bed and reached to the floor to pick up a handful of paper scraps from the floor. Trying to piece them together in the faltering moonlight, she managed to make out "I see into your heart," and three other pieces formed "turn the handle two times to the left, then three to the right."

She flung them off the bed with a tired swing of the arm, and lay down again. Promising herself that she would have a good night's sleep and understand everything in the morning, she shuffled right under the covers, so that only the top of her red head could be seen, and resigning to an uneasy sleep. But, to her surprise, she slept soundly and dreamlessly.


	3. A Touch of Normality

The next morning was Monday morning, which had always been Ginny's least favourite time of the week since she had began at Hogwarts. For a few seconds, as soon as she hazily woke up, she had forgotten the events of the previous night. It was only when her eyes fell upon the remains of paper on the floor that images of the evening's events can flooding back.

She turned onto her other side, wanting to go back to sleep, when she realised the time. She sat bolt up right and leaned forward, squinting at the little brass clock on her friend's bed-side set of drawers. It was ten minutes to nine; lessons would be starting in fifteen minutes, and she had already missed most of breakfast.

'Why did nobody wake me?!' she thought to herself furiously, as she flung open her bottom drawer and rummaged for her uniform. She vengefully yanked out clean tights and underwear, cringed at her pink set with the cherries on, and managed to scramble into them. With barely minutes to spare, she tore two arms through the sleeves of her shirt, stepped into her grey skirt and slipped into her clumpy black shoes. Struggling slightly, she pulled her grey jumper over her head as she ran through the doors to her dormitory and dashed down the steps.

She practically leapt right over the crimson sofa in the common room, kicking her legs outwards, and darted for the entrance, her Gryffindor tie flapping behind her as it hung over her shoulder waiting to be tied around her neck.

"Steady on, Ginny!" came a muffled voice, as she ran into something firm and grey. She looked up to see Dean Thomas grinning down at her. "You missed breakfast," he told her unnecessarily, as she stepped back to smooth down her jumper.

"I thought you were leaving," she began breathlessly, truthfully wanting to run past him and get to her lesson. "I heard your parents were bringing you back home, what with the whole…situation." Her voice trailed off, her eyes roaming to the floor.

Dean nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I'm leaving today actually. I was just gathering my stuff, but I'm glad I've bumped into you now. I'd hoped to say goodbye properly." His wide grin faded to a sad smile, and Ginny felt her cheeks flush. She had not forgotten that they had been going out the previous year.

"Well, that's…very thoughtful," she replied, in a tiny voice. She looked back up at him as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't worry," he said soothingly, "we'll meet again. Since Ron hasn't come back, I bet your mom and dad will want you back home soon enough. Hogwarts just isn't safe anymore." He briefly gazed into the corner of the room thoughtfully.

Ginny sighed gently. "I doubt I'd be any safer at home than I am here," she whispered, partly to herself. But she shook her head, shrugged her shoulders, and gave Dean a genuine smile. "Don't worry about me, just make sure you make it home safely."

Dean grinned again, his two front teeth poking cheekily from under his top lip. "Thanks, Ginny," he laughed. He aimed to plant a kiss on her cheek, but thought twice about it, and pretended to wipe her hair away from her face instead. "Well, yeah, I'd best be going."

Ginny stood and watched as he strode up the stone steps and went to his dormitory. She looked down to her wrist to look at her watch, but sighed impatiently as she realised she had forgotten it. But she was aware of time slipping away, so she pulled her bag back on to her shoulders, which had some how been flying around her waist as she been running down the stairs, and squeezed through the common room entrance, leaving the picture of the fat lady flinging open behind her.

"Mind you don't trip over those laces, young lady!" she haughtily called out to Ginny, as she watched her fly along the corridor and down the nearest flight of moving stairs to her Charms lesson.

Ginny ended up being the last person into the lesson, but she was only one minute late, so Professor Flitwick simply gave her a nod of acknowledgement as she breathlessly found her desk and flounced down onto her seat. The girl Hufflepuff sitting next to her eyed her with uncertainty.

"Having a hectic morning, Ginny?" she smirked, making room for her to arranged her parchment and books. Ginny raised an eyebrow.

"You have no idea," she muttered, pulling out her quill, with half the feather strands missing, and quickly wrote the date on the top of her parchment.

The lesson took a long time to get started. Ginny usually quite liked Charms, she had always had a knack for charms and hexes, but she could not focus. Her head tilted to the side as she twirled a loose strand of hair between her fingers and absent-mindedly gazed into middle distance.

_Oh, Dean_, she thought to herself, rather amused, _what are you like?_ She smirked, and was about to break out into a giggle when a loud crack sounded from her left. The Hufflepuff girl's mouse was supposed to have danced across the table, but instead it blew up, sending everything in the surrounding area, and forcing the majority of Ginny's scattered belongings off the desk. She slid off her seat to kneel on the floor and gather everything up, knocking her bag as she went. She wiggled around to see the damage, but as she watched a text book slide out, something else followed on top of it, waking her up fully like a cold slap in the face.

Tom Riddle's portal pendant casually slid along the shiny surface of 'The Tricks and Treats of Transfiguration Volume IV', the snake's eyes staring up at her. Ginny froze, feeling her body temperature drop significantly. She fully remembered leaving it in her draw without removing it before the lesson; so why was it here now, and how did it get here? Questions flooded into her mind, each one without an answer.

"Miss Weasley? Ginny Weasley, are you quite alright down there?" came a high-pitched voice. Ginny bumped her head on the desk, and knelt up for her head to bob over the top and see numerous curious and amused faces peering down at her. Professor Flitwick stood with his hands on his tiny hips, shaking his fuzzy white head. "Deary me, child! First you come into the lesson late, and then you completely lose concentration!" He was not angry, but his irritation and concern was easily recognised. "Now come along, on your feet and at then your desk, thank you. If ever there was a time for us to start losing our heads, this is certainly not it," he paused, noticing a row of Ravenclaw boys sniggering, "and that counts for all of you, too."

On that note, he tottered around back to the black board and started underlining and adding to his flourishing handwriting with a wave of his wand. Any other time, Ginny would have been embarrassed but humoured - not this time. She snatched up the portal pendant, shoved the over hanging textbooks into her bag and staggered on to her seat, collecting her quills and ink as she went. Once she was certain Professor Flitwick was preoccupied, and her nearby classmates were distracted with writing, she chanced a glance at the portal pendant.

She ran her thumbs over the snake's head, ignoring the cold shots she received from the icy metal. It was neither gold nor silver, possibly platinum, bold and in as good a condition as she last left it. With her right hand she picked up her quill to look like she was writing, and with her left she clutched the portal pendant. She was torn between the idea of showing it to a professor, as she should have with the diary, and the some how more tempting notion to keep it secretly to herself, since despite being scared of the object, she at least knew who was behind it. Plus, to leave such dark magic in the hands of the remaining authorities at school could prove fatal if it hurt them; at least if Ginny kept it safe, the school would be unknowing and therefore out of danger - at least, that was what she told herself.

The rest of the lesson passed by in a bleary blur. Clumsily, she dropped her belongings one by one into her school bag, and dawdled out of the classroom. Flitwick gave her a final concerned glance as she left, before returning to the parchments on his desk. Once Ginny was certain she was the last person in the corridor, she abandoned all thoughts of Potions, and simply ran. She ran the opposite way down the corridor, flew up the moving staircases until she finally came to the Gryffindor common room door, muttered "piggy puff" to the Fat Lady in the portrait, and raced up to her dormitory.

On barging through the door, she tossed her bag aside, ran and bounced onto her bed, and dropped the portal pendant before her on the end of her bed. She ran her fingers through her static hair and began to breathe heavily, trying desperately to remember what Riddle had told her about the pendant. But the memories were flooding away like run water would through her fingers, and no matter how many times she screwed her eyes shut and shook her head, the images of him from last night were fading and leaking away.

With a desperate look at the pendant, she lunged for it, shut her eyes tight and pulled open the snake's mouth. The room was instantly filled with a blinding gold light, Ginny and the pendant were absorbed into it, and the then the dormitory was dark and still.


	4. I Don't Think So!

In an empty, dank classroom, the silhouette of a tall, slender boy could be seen in the quizzing moonlight, just by a long narrow window. In the opposite corner of the room, the darkness began to press in on itself, causing a flicker of gold light to appear. As the gold light grew and expanded over the room, drowning the flagstone floor in light, the figure of the boy turned slowly on the spot to watch, as though it had been waiting and expecting the light display. Finally, in a tornado of golden glitter, dust and light, Ginny twisted into view, the chain of the portal pendant visibly hanging between her fingers. The face of the figure twitched when it saw the hand holding the pendant, then smiled when it saw who's hand it was.

"Ginny," Tom smiled. "You came … as I had hoped." He stepped towards Ginny, who pointedly stood firmly on the spot, not about to back away as she wanted to which would only show her fear.

"I am here for answers, nothing more," she replied curtly, sounding much braver than she felt. "I want answers as to how this pendant works." She held it up, deliberately high enough for the failing light of the moon to snatch the sparkling of the snake's jewelled eyes.

Tom continued to smile and come closer. "So you have seen it's secretive ways and wiles," he said calmly, his hands held behind his back.

Ginny cleared her throat under her breath. "I understand it does not stay put in one place for long," she paused, "not like your diary." she added in a much fainter voice, faltering under his steady, relentless gaze. Why did he insist on staring so?

"It is designed to stay by your side. How else could one be expected to use it, if one does not have it near?" he asked. "As I have already told you, this pendant is yours. It was designed for you; destined for you." He finally stopped walking towards her, and rearranged his hands to hold them together. "You did not have to tell it where to go, did you? It merely read your heart and you arrived where you longed to be." His smile became more evident at the same rate as Ginny's courage faltered. He just _had_ to twist everything back to himself.

"So, why?" she tilted her head up to stick her chin out, hoping to appear defiant and definite. "Why is this thing destined for me only?"

Tom gave the mildest of shrugs. "That, I cannot entirely answer. Why were you chosen to open my diary all those years ago? It all comes down to the same thing. Fate has taken a hold of you, for the time being, at least."

She sniffed, not at all satisfied with his response. But she had learnt why the pendant appeared in her school bag, and that was all she needed for now, and to some degree wanted to know. She stepped right up close to Tom, causing him to raise an eyebrow, surprised at her boldness and supposed lack of fear. "Well, that was all I needed to know," she replied flatly. She was about to say "thank you," but stopped herself. She would not stand there thanking the young man who caused her such grief.

He smiled again. "That will never be all you need to know, Ginny Weasley," he whispered in a silky voice, causing the room temperature to dramatically drop and a shiver to snake up her spine as he let her name spill off his serpent tongue.

"Goodbye Tom," she muttered. She opened the snake's mouth, and closed her eyes as the blinding gold light absorbed her and spiralled her through the volumes of vortexes of time back to Hogwarts.

Long after she left, Tom remained smiling, laughing to himself. "Ginny," he hissed lightly, before turning and gliding in a ghostly fashion out of the room.

Meanwhile, Ginny had returned to her dormitory, and held the portal pendant in the palm of her hands. _If it's supposed to take me wherever I like_, she thought, _it needn't be straight to Riddle_. She opened the snake's mouth, felt the spiral of light consume her for seconds, and then felt the carpet of the Gryffindor common room beneath her. She smirked to herself, suddenly feeling a rush of thrill at the thought of being able to go wherever she wanted. Wanting to test the portal pendant further, she shut her eyes and opened the snake's mouth. Barely moments later, she emerged outside the common room, right in front of a startled fat lady. Suppressing her sudden glee, in spite of her ill feeling towards Riddle and his idea of gift giving, and repeated the process with the portal pendant until she arrived back in her dormitory.


	5. A Different Kind of Trouble

_This is a bit of a *filling up chapter* - it's just to bring Ginny's future events along._

Not keen to leave her absence from her Potions lessons as a truancy on her school records, Ginny paid a hasty visit to her head of house, Professor McGonagall, to tell her she had been "feeling unwell after breakfast, and decided to have a quiet morning studying for the benefit of not just herself but the wellbeing of the whole class, just in case it wasn't something she ate." Needless to stay, McGonagall was not entirely impressed. She merely removed her glasses and polished them with her sleeve, a strange, sad expression on her face.

"Miss Weasley," she sighed, "I understand how this is a difficult time for you, what with your family not being around, and the situation outside of Hogwarts," she began, "but I do not think running away from your problems is the way out of them."

Ginny resisted the temptation to roll her eyes, realising that McGonagall had slightly misunderstood the situation, and irritated that the staff insisted on bringing the subject up. Not a day went by when she did not think about her family, and whether or not they would all come through alive, but she did not need to be constantly reminded by people who claimed to "understand" but probably never would. She simply sighed and bowed her head, hoping this would be satisfying enough.

"Yes, Professor McGonagall," she replied solemnly, lowering her head. McGonagall raised her eyebrows, but chose not to pursue the matter further, and guided Ginny out of the classroom with a firm hand on the shoulder.

"Remember you do not have to hide away," she concluded, "we may be teachers, but we are not all terrible. We are here to help." Something Ginny suspected was a smile played about McGonagall's face as she walked away down the corridor back to the common room.

Yet again, she pulled up the pendant, having been wearing it under her shirt, and held in the light, examining it again. She sneered at the snake's head, feeling guilty for have dared to enjoy using it, and feeling more and more like an idiot for excepting gifts off Tom Riddle. She kept fruitlessly asking her self why she let him walk all over her. _He is You Know Who, he could convince a spider to make friends with a basilisk,_ she thought to herself in her own defence, _it's not a case failing to up stage him. It's nothing more than the fact that you should know better. _

"Tom Riddle, what have you done to me?" she found herself asking the question aloud. But before her lack of self discipline could annoy and astound her any longer, urgent footsteps could be heard coming up behind her. Listening carefully, she could hear clumpy, clumsy footsteps following close by. Not wanting to be seen hanging around in the corridors alone, she ducked out of sight in a tiny nook in the wall, praying it was not a crowd of teachers.

But she was mistaken; it was little Dennis, Colin Creevey's younger brother, and he appeared to be the source of two Slytherin boys' amusement. She bit her lip and leaned further back, wanting to help but not keen to get hurt.

"Hey, slow down, Denny-boy!" called out one boy. The second one sniggered. Ginny chanced a glance at them, not knowing their names but recognising them from around school - as far as she could remember they were in their sixth year, like Ginny, and known for causing trouble. One was tall and thin, with lank black hair and a blotchy complexion, and the second was short and dumpy, with hair of an even brighter shade of ginger than her own.

"Go away!" cried Dennis, clutching his school books as he tottered down the corridor, his bottom lip quivering and his cheeks bright pink. But the two boys merely laughed. The tall one ran up behind him and span him around.

"Look here, Denny-wenny-boy, you can't tell us to go away. We have just as much right to be here as you, don't we, Troll?" sneered the tall boy. Ginny had to force herself not to laugh aloud, as the other boy, who was presumably 'Troll', stepped into view and chortled. "And anyway," he went on, "you haven't paid us yet!"

Dennis looked frantically from one boy to the other, his eyes shining. "I'm sorry, Crumper," he sniffed. "But I cannot do all of my homework and your homework too! Professor Binns expects an essay later today, and I haven't done it!" He stood, many a head and shoulder shorter than Crumper and Troll, practically sobbing on the spot.

Crumper and Troll grinned at each other, and then at Dennis. "Oh dear," whispered Crumper. "Well what a shame we don't care!" And on that note the two of them flung their wands out of their pockets and pointed them in Dennis's face. Before he even had the chance to scream, he had a sharp "Petrificus Totallus" shouted in his face, and with a wave of Troll's wand he was hurtled upside down and motionless. Whilst Crumper and Troll stood howling with laughter, Ginny stood there, rooted on the spot with rage. The battle with her sensibility and conscience was over; her conscience won.

"You two! Stop it now!" she yelled. Dropping the snake's head, for it to fall back down around her neck, she pulled out her own wand and held it out before her. The boys stopped for a moment, to see Ginny step out of the shadows in the corridor. Upon seeing she was a girl, they continued to crease up, this time laughing even harder.

"What's up, ginge?" Troll gurgled between whoops of laughter. Ginny smiled at them, forgetting her initial nerves and standing up tall.

"Nothing much, carrot top," she replied, despite the fact she despised being called that herself by anyone else. Troll grunted and stopped laughing, and Crumper put a bony hand on his flat hip.

"Who d'you think you are, coming along and … insulting us?" he barked, not coming out as menacing as he had hoped. Ginny continued to smile at the two boys.

"Who do you think you are teasing a little boy?" she asked, letting her head tilt to the side, as if she were having an idle conversation with friends. The boys simply looked at each other in a dumbfounded manner.

"He's a little wimp," scoffed Crumper, folding his arms. "He swore he'd do our homework for a week if we helped him out."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, folded her arms and nodded mockingly. "Oh I see, because when in trouble, you two are, without a doubt, the first people anybody would turn to, let alone a lower-year pupil," she smirked. "What did you really do?"

Troll puffed out his chest defensively. "We told him we could save him and his brother, we said we'd tell him a spell to keep them alive if he did our homework for a week -- ouch!" Crumper walloped him in the stomach, cringing at him for telling the truth.

"Well, now I see why _you_ prefer to do the talking rather than your friend here. It's clear he's even more of a blubbering, blundering idiot than you are," said Ginny boldly.

Crumper swore under his breath and growled at Ginny. "You'll pay for that one, you ginger minger!" he hissed, and waved his wand clumsily at her face. Only just in time, Ginny ducked as a flash of red shot from the wand tip. She stood up and waved her wand at Crumper, but within a split second shot it to aim between Troll's eyes, sending him flying backwards with an orange spiral dashing out of her wand like a coiling snake.

Forgetting wands, Crumper lunged towards Ginny and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Dennis, who had been watching them all, stood horrified, his eyes wide and shining with shock not-yet cried tears. "Get out of here, Dennis!" cried Ginny incredulously, and without needing to be told twice, he picked up his books and bolted out of the corridor.

"Don't think you'll get away with this, cos you bloody well won't!" he shouted, whilst Troll rubbed his nose. He lifted Ginny off the ground, but it was obvious he struggled, since his arms quivered and his teeth were gritted.

With a swift kick in the shins, she knocked a surprised Crumper to the ground. But as she fell, she felt him let go of her collar, but grab something else underneath it in his shock. The chain of the portal pendant flew up out of Ginny's shirt and the snake's head followed. Panicking, Ginny lurched and grabbed it, but the snake's head opened as it got trapped in Ginny's fist. Before she could run or react, the spiralling golden light consumed her, and dissolved into darkness, leaving Crumper and Troll dumbfounded in her wake.


	6. Who'd Have Thought

_Hello again! Some later events in this chapter follow the film, rather than the book, simply because my books are buried at the back of my cupboard, and I'm such a nutter I can remember almost all the words from the film :-D_

Ginny's landing was less than graceful. Rather than landing on her feet, she missed the floor and landed on her knees, her hands smacking the stone floor hard. Somehow, every time she used the portal pendant, she had the misfortune of landing on a cold flagstone floor.

She stood up and dusted herself down, then took a good look around. She had appeared in a tiny cylindrical room, barely big enough to fit a broom lying flat on the floor, with no windows, doors or openings. The tiny fragments of light came from what was presumably sunlight outside, poking through the gaps in the stones in the wall.

It was so pitch black that Ginny could not even see her hand right in front of her face, but she had seen and experienced enough in her time to accept that things were not always as they appeared. Assuming she was not alone in the darkness, she cleared her throat and put her shoulders back.

"Hello?" she whispered into the blackness before her, listening intently for footsteps, or even breathing. Surprise, surprise, a tall, slim figure began to make its way out of the darkness, holding out what could only be a wand, with a silvery light shining from the end, giving everything around it a green glow. Something not far from a smile flickered across his face as he stood calm and composed, watching Ginny as she squinted into the darkness. "Tom Riddle?" she whispered barely audibly.

He nodded, and took another step forward. She involuntarily took a step backwards, feeling the stone wall hit her back. "Hello, Ginny."

A shiver of ice raced down Ginny's spine as Tom Riddle spoke her name; his cold, silky voice and her name ought not to mix, as far as she was concerned. Struggling to hide her over-flowing fear, she cleared her throat and stood away from the wall.

"How did I know I'd find _you_ here?" she spat, deliberately soaking every syllable with sarcasm. Riddle continued to smile at her.

"Need I remind you how the portal pendant works?" he replied; Ginny sensed the tiniest hint of patronisation and sarcasm in his own voice.

Ginny scoffed, unwilling to believe that as far as her 'heart's desires' went, Tom Riddle's company was high on her list. Keeping talking seemed to help her keep her fear at bay - for now. "I do not want to be here with you, so it looks like this precious party-porter pendant is broken."

Tom's smile faltered, and he took another firm step forward. Ginny felt her bones tremble, suddenly keen to back away to the wall again. Thinking as fast as she could, she reached for the pendant, which was awkwardly down her shirt, and held up the snake's head.

"You wished, or at least, you sub-consciously desired, to be as far away from those two school boys as possible, so the pendant brought you to that place," he said calmly. His smile returned fully to his face again, and his lips separated to reveal a row of pearly white teeth; Ginny half expected him to be fanged. "It is just by pure coincidence that I am here," he concluded, speaking as though he was fighting the urge to chuckle.

Ginny stammered and stuttered for a second, his manner catching her off-guard. "I-I was actually helping the boy they were bullying! I did not summon the pendant - I merely - it just-" she cut off, as Tom tilted his head to the side.

"And so, the fickle forces of Fate saw fit to draw us together, not for the first time," he went on, continuing to smile, only this time his silver eyes, looking almost green in the dingy light, widened and stared hard at her.

Ginny did not want to listen to this, she broke eye contact with Riddle, shielding her face from him with her hand, and dashed away, running her other free hand along the wall, feeling out for an opening or handle. But her fruitless efforts only helped in humouring Riddle, causing him to laugh, high and loudly.

"Ginny, you cannot escape here just like that," he laughed, practically cackling, "what are you, some helpless little Mudblood?" She stopped, panting with panic, and dared to look back into those icy eyes. They were not bleak and lifeless like she dreamed them, they were full of life, almost full of fire, but fuelled by emotions she did not recognise. But then, why would she? She was trapped, having a one-way conversation with Lord Voldemort. Not even Fred and George could interpret that as a laughable situation.

Just when she thought he would not dare to step any closer, he calmly strode up to her, and held out a hand. Ginny eyed it with sheer terror, half expecting it to turn into a spider before her very eyes, but unnerved even more to see it looked human; masking his inhumanity with human qualities.

"Ginny, my dear, after all these years did you think I would settle with simply a stern word from you and the odd encounter in a cold, dark dungeon?" he asked, drawing out the end of the sentence. "We ought to get acquainted better."

Ginny feverishly shook her head, her hair flying about her face manically, but effectively hiding her terror. "I'd sooner jump out of this tower," she whispered in reply, her voice uncontrollably shaking now.

Tom blinked. "Well you wouldn't get very far, we are on the ground floor," he said simply. Ginny exhaled hysterically, somewhere between a sigh and a gasp, genuinely shocked by his calmness. "I am serious, Ginny Weasley, I want to get to know you. I want to discover what happened to that sweet, precious little girl who wrote to me those years ago." He paused, waiting for a reaction, confident that she would back down and let him take charge.

But instead, summoning all her energy and controlling her frantically shaking hands, she furiously held on to the snake's head, holding it in front of her for the two of them to see. "Not today, Riddle," she hissed. He looked disappointed at the most, but maintained his composure, as he watched her wrench the snake's head open and collapse inwards into the darkness.

"She will be back," he whispered delicately. "Oh yes, the girl will come back to me."

After three seconds of being compressed into blackness, Ginny felt air burst back into her lungs, and the cool night air whip her face. Opening her eyes and looking around, she recognised the lake and Hagrid's hut. She breathed a sigh of relief, and made her way up to the castle, hoping not to bump into any teachers along the way, since it looked like it was after ten o'clock.

The lights were on inside, and the hubble of cheery chattering could be heard even from outside, coming from inside the Great Hall. Ginny frowned, assuming that since the war was going on, and so many families were being sent home, there would be no need for feasting, and certainly no grounds for celebration. But when she looked back to Hagrid's hut, she saw that the lights were on in there as well, when as far as she was aware, Hagrid was no longer there. Yes, there was a definite feeling of contentment and anticipation in the air, even outside.

At that moment something jolted somewhere in Ginny's stomach. She ran down to Hagrid's hut, stumbling over the rocky path and stumpy weeds, and knelt beneath the window. Distinct talking could be heard from inside; somebody sounded panicked; Hagrid sounded panicked. Then another voice sounded, which made her stomach jolt further, like a heavy lead weight was dropped inside her lungs.

She peeked just over the edge of the window, and saw two heads facing away from her; one jet black and the other bright ginger. Listening intently, ignoring her swooping stomach, she held her head against the wall. She heard Harry.

"Do you know who has opened the chamber of secrets?" she clearly heard him ask.

"What you have to understand about that is--" Hagrid's reply was cut short by Fang's booming barking, and a rapping at the door. To Ginny's horror, two figures stood at his door, completely oblivious to Ginny's presence, one tall and cloaked in purple, the other short, plump and clutching what looked like a hat and parchment. Crouching lower, Ginny kept as close to the walls of the house as she could. But her stomach did another somersault when she saw who walked in.

Professor Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge made their way in, just as Harry and Ron flung their invisibility cloak over themselves. She listened further, tucking her hair out of the way, hoping to pick up on the conversation again.

"Bad business," an unfamiliar voice was saying, but as she tried to concentrate, a noise from not far behind her stole her focus. Any air left inside her lungs was robbed away, and the weight in her lungs was replaced with a cold emptiness and helplessness. She gasped sharply, in spite of herself wanting to stay unseen, as Lucius Malfoy strode swiftly down the path to Hagrid's hut, clutching an even larger parchment than Fudge had, looking smugly at the vegetation in disgust, and effortlessly stepping over all the lumps and bumps Ginny tripped over.

She speedily shuffled along, further down behind Hagrid's hut, into further darkness. Lucius Malfoy had made his way to the door so far without noticing her. Only for a moment, when her foot loudly crushed a large twig, he peered around the edge of the hut. For a fleeting second, Ginny thought he could see her, as he seemed to be looking right at her, but apparently ignored it, and continued on his mission to curtly knock the door.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ginny slid back under the window to listen. At least now she was quite sure what the time was here; what year it was, and even the exact day. Looking through the window, she was high enough to just see a figure answer the door.

"Already here, Fudge. Good," said Malfoy, smartly stepping into the hut with an air of superiority and turning the atmosphere icy cold. His ghostly blond hair was neatly tied back, and his robes were of black velvet; some may not have guessed he was as cold as he was just from looking at his fashion choices.

There was muffling inside, Ginny heard Hagrid shout at him to "Get out of my house!", but Malfoy simply walked around the table, ignoring him. Cringing, she listened hard again.

"I simply called at the school, and was told the headmaster was here," he replied.

Dumbledore took over the conversation at this point. "And what exactly is that you want with me?" he said, calmly.

"The other governors and I have decided it is time for you to step aside," he drawled on, holding something up with Ginny could not quite see. "This is an order of suspension." She saw Fudge frown, and Dumbledore raise his eyebrows slightly, almost as if he was mildly impressed.

"…I'm afraid we feel you've rather," Ginny could see his glassy eyes glaring even from where she knelt, "…lost your touch. And with all these attacks, there'll be no muggleborns left at Hogwarts. And I could only imagine what an _awful_ loss that would be to the school." As he smiled to himself, the tension Ginny felt as he neared Harry and Ron's position was replaced with a heavy blow of guilt to the heart. Did this mean, to a certain degree, she was one of those to blame for Dumbledore's suspension all that time ago?

Dumbledore began to speak, drawing her eyes back into the hut. She sniffed, picking up on the conversation. "…You will find that help with always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." She blinked, feeling suddenly uneasy. It looked like Dumbledore was speaking to Harry and Ron, but they were standing where the window was, so they were completely see through. His gaze met with Ginny's, and she found herself aimlessly gazing back.

_Surely,_ Ginny thought, _he's not looking at _me_ is he?! _She blinked again, but Dumbledore was definitely looking right at her, right in the eyes, like he knew she was there, not as if he was expecting her, but looking like he was not surprised to see her either. "_Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it_," he had said. But what did that mean? And why on earth was he seemingly directing this advice to her?!

She blinked again, but Dumbledore was no longer watching her, and panic consumed her again as she heard the door open. Not wanting to be seen, she scurried right to the other side of the hut. But to her horror, that was the direction Lucius Malfoy was leading Dumbledore. This taking her off guard, she fell forwards, cracking dead twigs and leaves as she went.

Dumbledore merely turned his head slightly, but did not pursue his mild interest. Malfoy, however, picked up on her disturbance straight away, and instantly grabbed his wand from his waist.

"Who is there?" he hissed, walking slowly but determinedly right towards the spot she was frozen on.

"I expect it is only a little creature, Lucius," Dumbledore replied, almost sounding amused by the situation. "Perhaps a hedgehog?" Malfoy ignored him, coming closer and closer to Ginny. Frantically, she reached for the portal pendant under her shirt, disregarding the ruffling noise her shirt made.

He was only a foot away now, his wand held out before him, and his eyes narrowing, raking the darkness and the trees around the two of them. Praying silently, Ginny gripped the snake's head and forced the mouth open at the very moment Malfoy muttered "Lumos" to his wand. For one whole second, in the bright white light of the wand, Lucius Malfoy and Ginny Weasley were staring at each other, their eyes wide in shock. But a second later, a golden flash spiralled around the Ginny, and the darkness consumed her once more.

As the darkness mixed with the dazzling light, compressing her, she vaguely wished she had stayed a moment longer, just to see the look of utter confusion and anger on Malfoy's face, but the portal pendant was taking her far away from that man - the man who ultimately caused this anguish for her, and sent her flying into another dimension.

_Damn you, Riddle, I expect I will be coming back to you again_, she thought to herself, a mixture of sadness and terror filling her once more, as she felt a smooth, hard floor spread out and find its way beneath her body.


	7. What Comes Around

Ginny sat up and looked around, unable to recognise the room she was in, and certain she was not within Hogwarts. The floor beneath her was not of the usual flagstone, it was shiny and smooth, some kind of marble. Muttering and whispering could be heard from behind her, but she could not make out what any of the voices were saying. Thankfully there were windows in this room, since there was a trickle of light coming through a cap in what could only be described as some kind of counter in front of her.

Trying to sit up straighter, Ginny attempted to straighten her leg, but gasped with pain as she forced it to straighten out. She could only assume she had landed on it from a painful angle, since Lucius Malfoy did not have enough time to bombard her with any spells or hexes.

She tried bending it back again, only to involuntarily let out a squeak of pain and grabbing hold of her knee. It appeared to have been twisted. Her other leg could bend perfectly, but she could not get up off the floor. She looked to see what was directly above her, to find the counter spreading along side her, with curious taps sticking out and a couple of rainbow-tinted bottles and glasses standing beneath them.

And then she realised; she was in some kind of pub. She could see multi-coloured bottles of beverages, and butter beer taps stretching along the counter, or in this case, the bar.

"Look here, little miss, you can't come around here!" said a gruff voice from behind her. She craned her neck upwards and found herself looking up a set of flaring nostrils. Leaning forwards, she vaguely recognised the face of a barman in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she gabbled, still sitting on the floor, "I didn't mean to end up here. I mean …" she faltered under his glare. After a long pause, she bit her lip. "Would you please help me up?"

The barman shook his head, shaggy hair whipping his face, before bending down and scooping under her arms. Ginny stood up and wobbled. The barman put his hands to his chubby hips and raised a curly eye brow.

"I don't know what you young witches and wizards are up to, but if I sniff out any funny business you'll all be sent out by your ears," he grumbled, and with that he turned to serve two men at the bar. He glared at her for a few seconds as he filled two goblets with a yellow foamy liquid, then finally returned to accept payment and move on.

Ginny limped over to the door - why did it have to be so far away from the bar area? Dragging her leg behind her in a dog-like manner, she progressed to a gallop as she made for the double doors. She could not have flung them open faster.

Toppling outside, she straightened up and began her limp towards the castle. Several witches and wizards watched her, and tutted amongst themselves, assuming she was drunk. _I'm not legless in _that_ respect,_ she thought to herself, angrily.

Eventually Ginny reached a fork in the cobbled road, and headed left through some trees. She could see Hogwarts in the distance from where she stood, but she was certain it was quicker through the woodlands.

Unfortunately for Ginny, two familiar faces from earlier clearly thought the same. As she staggered along the path in the growing darkness, watching her feet, she accidentally bumped into a solid mass. She looked up, and groaned to see Troll turn around and face her.

"Well, well, _well_, look who's caught up with us, Crumper?" he grinned, his voice loud and falsely jolly. Crumper appeared from behind, and shot a smirk at Ginny, who glared back at the pair of them.

"Ey up, Ginge!" he said, clapping his hands together. "If my memory serves me correctly, we have unfinished business together."

Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically. "Don't make me laugh. Like I'm gonna bother wasting my time just to beat you _again_? Haven't you been embarrassed enough in one day?" she folded her arms and smiled impressively at the pair of them.

Troll and Crumper exchanged looks of amusement. "You can keep telling yourself that if you want, Ginge," said Crumper, stepping forward, "but I bet you wouldn't be singing the same tune if you knew you were taking on all six of us."

Ginny blinked and took an involuntary step backwards. Sure enough, four more bulky figures emerged from the darkening trees and leered at Ginny. She felt heat rise in her cheeks; one set of Troll and Crumper was bad enough, but two extra sets was another story. She knew without even trying that she wouldn't be able to take all of them on - six against one was a joke!

"Move out of the way, please, I want to get through," she replied, moving forwards and making to part the brain-dead crowd. They simply laughed at her.

"Hey-hey! Not so tough now, are we?" sneered Crumper, leaning close to Ginny. She smelt alcohol on his breath and wrinkled her nose.

"I _said_ let me through!" she barked, sounding bolder than she felt. The crowd howled at her, all thoroughly entertained at her brashness.

Suddenly, Troll straightened up and puffed out his chest. "Or _what_?" he shouted gruffly, pushing her to the ground. Ginny, not expecting such a forceful confrontation, was forced downwards, her already painful leg positively pounding with pain.

"What kind of wimp are you, troll-breath?" she yelled. "Don't you think boys pushing girls around is a bit first-year?" In spite of the scorching pain in her knee, she staggered upwards and stood as tall as her petite stature would allow, and looked Troll fiercely in the eye.

Put off by her apparent lack of fear, he stepped back to allow Crumper to take over. "Don't think we're playing around, Ginge," he growled, "you got us - so we're gonna get you back!" With that, he lifted her from the ground as he did before and slammed her against the tree. As she felt the trunk smack against her back, she watched the boys all pull there wands out, looking on at Ginny eagerly.

"You little prick!" she shot at him. As Crumper stood there, confused as to how she could still have any courage against them, she whipped out her wand and flung a bat-bogey hex at his face. It hit him like a bolt of lightning, and he leaped back, howling with pain.

"_Get her!" _he bellowed. His cronies lunged at her; Troll grabbed her, one boy even taller than Crumper with frizzy hair yanked her wand from her hand, and the rest waved their wands around and whooped and wailed.

"Get _off me!!"_ Ginny screamed, hoping raising her volume would attract attention or help. The frizzy haired bow gave a nasty grin, and reached for her again as Troll gripped her tightly. His bony hand grabbed her collar and pulled it. "No!" she squealed, as it cut into one side of her neck.

But the movement of the fabric caused the pendant against her chest to move. As a button snapped and the collar of her shirt ripped, it was flung upwards. The frizzy one grabbed it hungrily, but squawked with surprise as it burned him. He thrust it back towards her, unintentionally shoving it against her lips. The moment the snake's head touched her, something strange began to happen.

The snake prized itself away from her lips as he massaged his hand. Troll let go of her as Crumper stood up to investigate, and Ginny fell to the floor. She touched her mouth with her finger tips, a bizarre tingling sensation at work. Then, right before her eyes, out of the serpent's mouth emitted a ghostly gold glow. The glow began to grow and take shape. Before long, a shimmering Tom Riddle appeared before her. Ginny could only sit and gasp.

Troll turned around to grapple with Ginny again, only to freeze, dumb-founded at the sight of Riddle, who was watching him with a mingled look of curiosity, frustration and amusement.

"Who are you?" he asked, thickly. Riddle smiled, not answering. Crumper and the rest of his gang turned to see him smiling at Troll, and rounded on him. Ginny remained sitting on the ground, too scared to move. _Tom Riddle is _here_. Tom Riddle. This is beyond these stupid boys. Oh my god._

"Oi, I think he said: who are you?" Crumper grunted. When Riddle still gave no reply, Crumper laughed languidly in his face. "Who do you think you are? Some nancy pants who can't take a fight?!" All the boys jeered, egging him on. Crumper grinned broadly at them, then turned back to Riddle. His smile faltered, however, when he saw Riddle was no longer smiling. On the contrary, his smooth sixteen-year old faced suddenly had a demon-like quality.

"If I were you, I'd run. Run - as far away as you can. Before I get you," he replied simply. He did not blink, he stared hard at Crumper, watching him scoff and splutter.

"W-what's that supposed to mean? You want a- a duel?" he held up his wand, his hand now shaking. Troll took a step back, at a loss now that his dominant friend's strength was failing.

"No, no, you miss understand me," Riddle continued, now sounding innocently conversational and yet menacingly threatening at the same time, "when I say run - I mean _run_. I when I say I'll get you - well …." his voice trailed off as he examined his nails. "If you want to hang around and see what I mean, I won't stop you."

Ginny could only crouch against a tree a watch in horror. These stupid boys did not understand. They needed to do as they were told and run. Run for their sorry little lives. But they didn't know who this mysterious teenage boy was. They did not know they were confronting the darkest wizard to have ever walked the earth.

Foolishly, Crumper stood his ground, wand at the ready. Riddle rolled his eyes, then pulled out his own wand, a snake delicately engraved around the handle.

He chuckled softly, a red glint splashing in his eyes. "This is finally getting interesting."

Within the space of a split second, before Crumper could even plan an attack, he was flat on his back on the ground, a violet spurt of magic hitting him square in the chest. Troll ran forward, under the extraordinary impression that he could manually beat up Riddle, only to be tossed aside like a leaf by a mere flick of a wand and zap of turquoise light.

While the other four boys thought twice and backed away into the trees, Crumper struggled to his feet, dabbing his bleeding lip. "You'll - you'll pay for that - ow!" he whimpered.

Riddle threw his head back and laughed, the echo of his voice caged within the trees and bouncing back around the remaining four of them. "Allow me to disagree." He swirled his wand and released a batch of white hot sparks onto Crumper, who literally folded into the floor, doubling up as he was pricked and poked.

Ginny, who had so remained silent in the backgound, gasped and ran forwards. "_Stop it_! What do you think you are _doing_?!" she screamed, as she watched Riddle stand as if he were watching paint dry, with Crumper squirming with agony beneath him.

Something took over her. Something deep inside her was set alight. She rose from the ground, regardless of her agonising leg, flung out both arms and seized Riddle from behind. For possibly the first time in his un-dead life, Riddle was caught off guard.

Ginny flapped and slapped her arms against the demon creature within her grasp, who grunted as she lashed out.

"Get off! Stupid little girl, _get off me_!" he hissed, sounding positively snake like. He tried to force her off his back, but she resiliently reached for his wand. With both hands, leaning right over his shoulder, she clutched the wand.

Crumper, who had been petrified at the sight of Ginny lashing out at this boy, he had not noticed that the wand was now facing him directly. Instead of moving aside, he lay paralysed with shock; the last spell had knocked all his strength out of him.

Finally at a loss of patience, Riddle furiously seized both Ginny's wrists clasped to his wand. The instance his fingertips closed around hers, Ginny gasped with pain, as a sudden piercing magic shot through her. It stabbed like ice and burned like flames, but she could not let go.

The wand, beyond Ginny or Riddle's control, spouted a vivid green flash.

Riddle's eyes widened.

Ginny screamed as power surged through her.

Crumper gave a final whimper.

The green light hit him, and he was gone. His eye lids drooped, his head dropped, and his body lay motionless.

Once the spell was performed, the power immediately sunk back from Ginny into Riddle, and she fell, yet again, to the ground. She took one look at the life-ridden body before her, and emitted into sobs.

She could sense anger beyond recognition radiating from Riddle without even having to look up. She was too scared to look up. To terrified to look into those eyes at the prospect of what she might find in them. Or not find. Any shred of humanity.

Out of the corner of her tearing eyes, a set of shoes made their slow way towards her. Now he was right above her. She had no choice but to look up, a feeling of shame, terror and helplessness consuming her that she had never felt before. She gazed into those eyes, now blackened with what looked like disgust and fury, and began to sob frantically again.

Without warning, he seized the scruff of her grass stained robes and hauled her upwards. Ginny gasped involuntarily and held her hands over her face, continuously sobbing breathlessly, not wanting to look into those eyes again. But she could feel them boring all over her, and she could hardly stand it. She was beside herself with fear. And this time she could not mask it.

"Please, please …" she heard herself choke. "Please, don't-"

"Oh, what do you expect me to do? Kill you? Crucio you? Gag you until you stop sobbing like a pathetic little leech?" He did not even spit or his words. He spoke them casually, like she wasn't even worth his anger and frustration. "But I'm surprised at you, no doubt. Aiding the murder of a mud blood. Ginny Weasley … who'd have thought?"

She dropped down to her knees again, giving him just enough time to reach for the portal pendant. He took a hold of the neck of her robes again, and casually flipped open the serpent's mouth.

"Come with me," he whispered.

Ginny had no choice anyway. She let the spirals of gold dust carry her away, blinding her from the woods, from Crumper's dead body, from the sight of Riddle.

She felt herself seep away.


	8. Realisation

_I know things are getting a bit OTT, angst and emo for Ginny, but hang in there! ;-)_

The moment Ginny felt land materialise back beneath her feet, her immediate intention was to run. She didn't know where to, she just knew she had to. But after taking one look around it become obvious that wasn't going to happen.

She was back in a murky tower again, only this time it was pitch black, with no light creeping through cracks in the stones, and a strong smell of damp in the air.

She straightened up as best as she could, still gurgling tear-less sobs and gasps. She slowly edged forwards with her scratched hands held outwards, and felt the wall in front of her after only three steps. Edging backwards, she was unnerved to feel the back wall not far behind. This bizarre chamber could be about three or four feet in diameter.

At that moment, something touched her. Something cold like ice and smooth like snake skin, yet sharp to the touch. Ginny jumped as she had been prickled by a needle. Listening intently she could hear feather-light breathing from her left. Tom Riddle was close by.

In fact, he was too close. Much too close for comfort. Ginny was bruised, scratched and mucky. She did not want Tom Riddle staring down at her, mocking her for her behaviour and blood status, standing proud and tall, completely clean in both clothing and conscience - not that he had one of those, of course.

Too scared to move, in case she bumped into him, Ginny stood as still as a statue, breathing hard. She did not dare to even speak.

Something spindly and spine chillingly cold touched her cheek, running from the top of the cheek bone and down to her chin.

No. She would not stand there and be degraded a moment longer.

She felt the portal pendant, ridiculously, the most comforting thing in the chamber, and tucked her hand under her shirt to reach for the serpent's head. Not a moment too soon, she opened it's mouth. She closed her eyes and relished the gold flecks of dust and magic as they spiralled around her a took her back to Hogwarts.

She landed on her bed, lying still as if she had been asleep, as if the whole incident had been a bad dream. But the imprint of Tom Riddle's skin on hers reminded her of the painful reality of her situation.

Because of both of them, a student had been killed. Whether they were a good person or not, it was a needless death considering the sorry times they were in. Ginny knew the staff could be on to her, following an accusation by the other boys. Or maybe they hadn't reach him yet. Or maybe his disappearance hadn't even been noticed. Maybe he still lay there, unwanted and forgotten, dead against the cold ground.

Ginny beat her fist into her pillow with her last remaining strength. All the hurt, remorse and pain Tom Riddle should have felt, had be been human, Ginny was compensating for. Her hurt and what should have been his hurt was consuming her within her very heart. This was all wrong!

_Tom Riddle, what have you done to me?_

_The deaths, your control of me, a repetition of what happened four years ago … _

_You are turning me into you!_

She sat up, leaning against her lumpy pillow, and held the portal pendant. She did not, amongst everything else she was feeling, understand how Tom Riddle arrived. Recollecting the whole process again was too painful. She tried to focus on what happened before.

She was losing against the six boys, but whether she needed help or not, she did not require Tom Riddle to be there. So why did he come? Ginny did not even open the serpent's mouth. She looked down at it's mouth, then slid down her pillow, the heavy feeling in her stomach turning hollow.

_That boy forced it against me,_ she thought, _it was pressed against my mouth. Does that mean … I accidentally ……_

She could not bring herself to say it inside her head. But there seemed to be no other explanation.

The serpent, or Riddle, or both of them interpreted that as some twisted kiss.

That's what summoned him.

Ginny clutched her stomach.

This was beyond her capacity.

And she thought a dementor's kiss was enough to cause destruction.

She was wrong.


	9. The Inevitable

Ginny had been up all night. Sleep was out of the question; her mind was teaming with recollections of Crumper's dead body, her own pathetic strength, and the touch of Tom Riddle.

After hours of mulling those three things over and over, she still could not understand how or why Riddle thought he was doing Ginny some kind of favour by cursing, injuring and ultimately killing one of those boys. She wondered whether Riddle believed he could now use this event as a form of leverage. Now he had 'saved' her, she would eventually have to do the same for him.

But that still didn't fully explain why he had helped her. Whether his deeds were commendable or not, his actions saved her from being physically hurt.

"Why he should care about that?" she said aloud.

At that moment she sat up again, her face stony. Voldemort, or Tom Riddle, had horcruxes scattered across the country, or possibly even the world. If one of those were to be destroyed, then surely part of him would be destroyed.

And what was it that Riddle told Ginny, that first night she met him again? "You created a magical connection between yourself and I," he had said.

"If he and I are …" she gulped at the prospect, "connected, then what happens to one of us will affect the other."

She leaned into her pillow. "If we are connected then he could control me like last time. Only this time he won't be possessing me … I'll be _aware_ of it." She shut her eyes, her sense of helplessness multiplying. "This must be what happened with him and Harry. They had a … connection."

Ginny had to admit; if someone had come along and told her they had a connection with Lord Voldemort, she would have demanded they take a one-way trip to St. Mungo's. But this was different. This was real. This was sick, twisted and, mostly horrifyingly, inescapable.

"Inescapable …" she sighed, feeling the serpent's head sit peacefully in her hand.

_This was not supposed to happen._

_Ginny Weasley should not still be at full strength; that blast should have completely destroyed her soul, or killed her at least. _

_And as I dwell here, in this sickening limbo, she lives. Awake, wanting and wondering._

_Whereas I … I am resigned to this squalid existence, the remaining 'life' pouring away like sand._

_Her touch … her touch scorched me. _

_That heat - searing through me, burning me._

_This was not part of the plan._

_And if she senses this weakness, she will surely take advantage._

_I cannot let this happen._

_My fate cannot lie in the hands of Ginny Weasley._


	10. Unreal vs Unlimited

_Thrash_ went Ginny's arm. _Thump_ went her fist. _Crash_ went the portal pendant.

_Visions of Crumper's body chasing her through gnarled trees, flashes of green light blinding her vision, and the high-pitched cackle of Tom Riddle deafened her as he sent her falling straight through the ground into fathomless darkness pursued her._

"_No," she murmured. She was falling, her stomach swooping as she tumbled. Her bare feet touched down on land once more, and she ran through another set of trees. But she was losing momentum, and she was slowing down._

"_Where am I?" she said. Her legs gave way and she slid to the ground in slow motion. Three figures were ahead, cloaked and coming closer. "Where am I?" she asked again, hoping these strangers could give her answers._

"_Ginny? Ginny, is that you?" called a familiar voice, which made her heart soar. "Harry! Hermione! It's Ginny!" The tallest figure ran closer, bent down to examine Ginny, and lowered the hood to reveal a cheery looking Ron Weasley._

"_Ron!" Ginny cried. "How did you- Where did you-"_

"_Ginny! My goodness, are you alright?" Hermione chirped anxiously. "Here, let me help." She took one hand, Ron took the other, and they both hoisted her to her feet. "Harry! We found Ginny," she smiled to the third figure._

_Harry lowered his hood and grinned. "Ginny," he laughed. He stepped towards her and clasped his arms around her. She was in such shock she barely managed to hug him back. This sudden company was completely overwhelming._

"_I-I thought you were on your … mission?" she croaked. The three of them looked at each other._

"_Well, we were," Ron replied, scratching the back of his head, ruffling his hair further. "But I couldn't turn down the chance to visit my favourite little sister, could I?" He smiled kindly, but Ginny blinked back, still in a state of confusion._

_Something was not quite right. Yes, it was Ron, Harry and Hermione. But they were robed in black from head to toe like Deatheaters, the trees still stood angrily behind leading back into the darkness, and although she was now standing, Ginny was looking up at them all as if she was only four foot tall._

"_Come on, we'll help you find your way home!" Harry announced. Ron and Hermione nodded encouragingly from behind. Feeling weary and tired, Ginny let Harry take her hand and lead her onwards through the trees. She felt blind and clumsy as she fumbled through the darkness, not letting Harry loosen his hold._

_The ground was squashy beneath her feet, and the air around her was breezy and cold. Feeling light-headed, she allowed herself to be pulled along in a dreamlike state._

Little did she know, back at Hogwarts, she was standing upright, one hand wobbling awkwardly in front of her, and she was about to make her way out of the dormitory. The portal pendant had miraculously stayed settled in the palm of her hand.

"_It's just through here. C'mon!" cried Harry, his voice sounding distant. Then Ginny realised she had let go of his hand. Panicking, she sped up to reach him. Everything felt like it was going down hill in awkward steps and stages. She was struggling to keep up._

Fumbling and stumbling, she walked down the stairs from the dormitory, and padded across the carpeted floor of the common room.

"_Harry, you're going to fast," she gabbled breathlessly. "Harry?" She looked around, and saw that Ron and Hermione were no longer following them. "Harry! Where's Ron? Where's Hermione?"_

"_We're taking a short cut," Harry replied back, then he laughed, sounding quite out of character. "Come on!" Ginny found herself running faster and faster to keep up with him._

Ginny tumbled out of the common room, earning a highly reproving look from the Fat Lady. Swaying slightly, she walked along the corridor, the floor icy cold against her bare feet.

"_Agh! Harry, slow _down_," she gasped. Finally, Harry stopped. Without looking back at Ginny, he put his hood back up and bent down. He appeared to be rummaging for something within the roots of the trees. It was too dark for Ginny to see what he was looking for._

_Harry then stood up, his cloak masking half his face in shadow, and stood level with her. "Close your eyes," he said, in a normal voice. Too out of breath to question him, Ginny shut her eyes. The black against her eyes was soothing in this instance - at least she could control this darkness. But everything was silent now._

"Open them," said a second voice. A different, yet oh so familiar voice. Ginny's eye lids snapped open. She was not greeted with Harry's face, but the face of Tom Riddle. _He_ was not smiling brightly, he was impassive, almost scowling.

A dozen questions flitted through Ginny's head. It took her moments to register what was going on. Was she dreaming? Was she awake? How did she get here?

"What have you done?" she asked in a shaking voice. Tom did not reply. He pulled his hood down with one hand, and revealed his wand with the other. Ginny froze on the spot. She gripped her arms and shivered; partly from the midnight cold, but also because she was now shaking with fear. The last consultation with Riddle had ended in fiasco; she was not in the mood for a repeat.

Ginny jumped as Riddle snapped his fingers with his free hand, indicating for her to bring forward one of her own. When she did not respond, and only stood looking blankly at him he sighed, reached for her wrist himself, and drew it forwards.

He placed the tip of his wand on the inside of her wrist, pressed it down against where her veins were pumping, and waited.

All of a sudden, a searing pain flashed in Ginny's wrist. She looked, and gasped to see Tom cutting a neat line with his wand across her wrist.

"Agh! No!" she breathed in pain, trying to pull her wrist away. But she was weakened from the dream, and Tom kept too firm a hold. As each tiny smidgen of blood leaked from her skin, Tom brushed his thumb against it.

As he did, Ginny felt her all-over strength fade. Tom breathed slowly and closed his eyes. Her strength and power was passing through to him. Her diminishing blood was empowering him. His eyelids flickered and his mouth twitched as magic flowed through his skin. Ginny could only stand and watch, wishing and wishing for him to let go.

But the feeling of his hands around her wrist was taking its toll. Her head felt clammy and her vision became blurred. She felt as if she was swaying on the spot. His thumb no longer felt tight and clenched, it felt soft and padded. She was literally losing her senses. Tom was gaining them.

Slowly, he loosened her wrist and removed his wand from her vein. Before he fully let go, he waved the tip of his wand above her wrist, and by doing so cleaned away the blood and healed where the wand had sliced through. Ginny looked down in a dazed amazement. No-one would have known he had slashed through.

She brought her hand close to her and slid her fingers over where the slash was. She idly wondered what would happen next. She felt ever so sleepy and flimsy.

Tom, on the other hand, stood tall. His pale complexion was glowing and pearly, and his eyes were bright and glossy where the light hit them.

"This is what happens when _you_ get hurt," he said, his voice almost shaking with all the excitement of this newly found power. Ginny looked at him with a glassy expression. Tom cleared his throat. "I need your hand again."

Too drained to retaliate, Ginny held her hand out again. Tom accepted it, only this time he placed the handle of his wand in her hand, and enclosed her fingers around it. Ginny flinched as he touched her. Realising he would have to take control for the moment, he pulled out his free hand and revealed the underside of his wrists, where his own veins showed up.

He positioned Ginny's hand to aim the wand at his wrist in order to repeat what he had done to her. Without even a mutter or a murmur, the process was being reversed.

A clear red line appeared across Tom's wrist. He carefully arranged Ginny's fingers so that they firmly touched the slash in his skin. He did not gasp or wince as Ginny did, but his jaw tightened as he watch the magic flow from him to her.

Ginny, who had been standing by watching the display of magic like a life-less mannequin suddenly regained a sense of awareness.

Something was happening. Some strange energy or magic. She could feel the magic crackling through her veins. She tried to pull away, but using his remaining strength, Tom kept a hold of her, maintaining her fingers over his wrist.

Magic was coursing through her, making her skin prickle. Meanwhile, the little colour in Tom's face was fading fast, and his eyes were loosing their sparkle.

When the stabbing feeling of magic streaming through her became unbearable, she yanked her hand from Tom's grasp, running her finger along the insides of her fore-arm. Her skin felt alive and crawling with all this power.

Tom stood still, breathing shallowly and massaging his wrist. He had finally lost eye contact with Ginny. Instead, she stared hard at him, waiting for an explanation. She suddenly felt braver than she was before.

"And that is what happens … when _I _get hurt," he concluded, finally looking up to meet her eyes. As the light from the moon outside flooded into the corridor through the arched windows behind them, Tom lowered his eyebrows, as he thought he saw the ghost of a red flash in Ginny's eyes as she glowered back at him.

"So, either way, I suffer," Ginny scoffed. This newly found power was surging beneath her skin, fuelling this newly found anger. "Great."

"Wake up. We are _both_ suffering here. Maybe by different hands, sometimes in different dimensions, but suffering all the same," he murmured, still cradling his wrist. Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically.

"This is your doing!" she hissed. "You didn't have to-"

"I've already told you," Tom cut in, "there is a connection between us going beyond my magical capabilities." He paused. "Do you really think I asked for this?"

"So you saw fit to draw me here for the _fun of it?_" she folded her arms and stared at the dark lord before, who was looking decidedly defeated.

"No," he sighed, "this was merely an experiment. And my findings prove me correct." Ginny irritably rolled her eyes towards the floor, and noticed she wasn't even wearing slippers.

They both looked up and their eyes met.

"You don't know the power you have over me, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny only just managed to suppress the smile tormenting her mouth. To think, she could potentially control the most evil wizard to walk the earth. If only he could be like this all the time.

"You should get back to your dormitory while you still can," said Tom in a quiet voice.

Ginny bit her lip. "What about you?" she asked. She surprised herself by doing so. Any other time she would have jumped at a chance to get away from him. Why show compassion _now?_

Tom briefly smiled. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, Miss Weasley. You run along."

"And just leave you. You, Lord Voldemort, biding your time down a corridor at Hogwarts in the middle of the night?" she queried, raising an eye brow.

He smiled again. "Simply use the portal pendant. It'll send me back where I belong."

Ginny blinked at him. "Where's that?"

"I'll show you…" he began, "…some other time, maybe," he replied.

"Well, good night, then," she said, turning slowly on the spot, pausing before she turned her back on him.

"Good night…" he whispered back, just as she pulled at the pendant and vanished in a gust of gold smoke.

"…Ginny Weasley."


	11. A Dangerous Deal?

Wahoo! Finally an update! :-D

* * *

By the time Ginny had made it back to the Gryffindor common room, she was in no mood for sleeping. She felt buzzing, anxious and alive. What had just happened there with Tom Riddle had given her a boost of unearthly energy.

She was certain even her dormitory looked different; the moon glowed through the curtains brighter and the portal pendant around her neck shone even more intensely. She could not see this, but even her eyes were brighter.

She felt a longing. A longing for something new and exciting. An adventure. A passion. A power. Anything. She simply needed something to get away from Hogwarts, where all her troubles seemed to lie, and fly away. On the positive side, there actually was a cure for this desperation. The negative was that she had to run to Riddle to receive it.

Ginny burrowed under the covers. _Wait until the morning,_ she told herself. _Run off now, and the night will be lost and I'll be dragging myself along to whatever lesson I have in a daze before I know it._ She twirled the snake's head. _Although, I'm sure transfiguration can be put aside for one morning._

She shivered. Even beneath her bed covers her breath was cold. She had a curious hunger for warmth. Fire. Excitement. Living in the knowledge that she could travel between dimensions in time, after spending a significant amount of her life being told where to go and when, had set her mind racing with risqué possibilities.

There was just one problem with this request. She needed Tom Riddle. The portal pendant sent her to all these places, but the events would not be memorable had it not been for his intervention.

Ginny bit her lip. She hated him for it. She hated herself for it, feeling weak and pathetic for giving into his power. The only comfort was that she now had a new lease of life. A part of Riddle was coursing through her, and although she was not proud of it, she was keen to test it out.

Enough was enough. She crept back out of bed, this time remembering her slippers, tiptoed out of the dormitory and down the stairs to the common room. Confident that nobody was around, she lifted the portal pendant, which had been sitting in her palm the whole time, and opened up the serpent's mouth.

The room consumed her and contorted her for the moment, until she her feet met the floor once more through a puff of golden smoke. The first thing her eyes became acquainted with was Tom Riddle's smirking face.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to come crawling back to me."

Ginny scoffed. "I would hardly call this crawling," she replied, putting the pendant around her neck and letting it drop beneath her night dress. "I simply cannot sleep."

Riddle paused. "And suddenly I am the perfect remedy for insomnia?"

"Not exactly," she said in a quiet voice.

"And speaking of remedies," he stepped closer to her, his hands typically held behind his back as he strode, "you owe me my magic back."

Ginny tensed, but did not back away. "Your magic?"

Riddle chuckled softly. "Did you really expect me to inject your blood with mine and never demand it back?"

Something inside Ginny's chest sunk. He gave this power, this strong feeling, only to rip it away from her? Then she remembered, this was Lord Voldemort. Compassion was never his strong point.

"Do you expect me to simply smile and let you take it?" she smiled mockingly but sweetly at him. Riddle laughed loudly; his physical appearance may have been more human, what with his matt colouring, grey eyes and dull complexion, but his voice never lost that sharp high-pitched echo.

"Ginny Weasley, you have become the _feisty_ little witch." He paused, his mouth still creasing into a smirk. "Since losing my powers will come as such an upset to you … I'll devise us a deal."

Ginny looked at him with curiosity. "Let me take back my magic, let me regain my full power, and I'll show you something I've never shown anymore before. I'll take you somewhere nobody's ever been."

She continued to look at him. His eyes met hers with confidence. Since he had been zapped of all his previous power, his more human eyes seemed suddenly more trust worthy. They were no longer glossy with a red glimmer, they were simply shiny and grey, coated with a rim of black lashes. In the light they were almost silver. Ginny dragged herself out of them and straightened up.

"_Where_, precisely, would you take me?"

"Well, that's down to me, so I'm keeping it as a surprise. But I promise you," he pulled out his wand, "you would regret missing the chance to see it."

He held out his free hand, waiting for her to offer him hers. Cautiously she raised it.

"You promise you'll show me this … _place_ if I give you your power back?" she asked.

"I promise," he whispered with a delicate hiss.

Ginny swallowed, then shut her eyes tight as she held out her hand, waiting for the drowning draining feeling from earlier on.

Riddle carefully pushed his wand into her wrist and summoned the magic out from her bloodstream and through his wand into his finger tips. Ginny felt her energy levels drop slightly, and felt her broadly held shoulders stoop. Simultaneously, Tom Riddle's skin regained its pearly sheen and his eyes began to brighten.

Only moments later he pulled his wand away. Ginny brushed a finger over her wrist. She definitely did not feel as weak and drowsy as she did before, but was still bitterly disheartened.

Tom straightened up and twirled his gracefully between his fingers. The mad glint in his eye had returned, if not a little more subdued than before. "Well then, you have fulfilled your side of the deal," he began, looking almost amusingly at Ginny, "so now it is my turn to fulfil mine."

Ginny blinked in surprise. With his wand he casually performed an oval of silver sparks in the air. The sparks chased each other around growing bigger and bigger in size, until they formed the shape of a ring big enough for a human to walk through. Tom turned from the ring to Ginny.

He held out a pale hand. Ginny eyed it with a new growing fear.

No matter how you span it, stepping hand in hand with Lord Voldemort into a magical ring in mid air into an unknown dimension with no idea where it was or how to get back if something most likely went wrong was a _bad idea._

A spin-chillingly charming smile lit up his face. His hand remained out stretched.

_Just take it. Go on._

_NO WAY! You know better than that, Ginny Weasley._

_But this could be an adventure!_

_This could turn into a nightmare._

_Maybe this _is _just a nightmare, a bad dream._

_Maybe this is all too real._

_Either way, we could go _anywhere …

… _Exactly …._

"Shall we?"


End file.
